Energy East cancelled due to low oil prices, poor business model

October 05, 2017

(OTTAWA) - The Green Party of Canada released the following statement:

“Today’s announcement from TransCanada to cancel plans for the Energy East pipeline will be celebrated by many Canadians – those who understand that transporting toxic diluted bitumen (dilbit) across pristine areas, and that exporting bitumen to offshore refineries, is a poor business model,” said Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party of Canada (MP, Saanich-Gulf Islands).

“This was an investor decision that resulted from the low global price of oil. Look at the number of transnational oil companies exiting the oil sands, selling their assets due to the high costs of extraction and production: StatOil, Conoco-Phillips, Royal Dutch Shell. Fossil fuel investment is becoming less viable while renewable energy investment increases exponentially,” Ms. May said. “Governments need to step up with a plan to assist oil sands workers in transitioning into clean energy jobs.”

Daniel Green, Deputy Leader of the Green Party of Canada, said: “Low oil prices killed the Energy East pipeline, but the clear environmental threat posed by this pipeline never prevented TransCanada from continuing to sell it to Canadians. To hear the company claim today that it pulled the plug because it was being asked to consider the impact of GHG emissions from potential downstream consumption of oil, shows that this dangerous project was unacceptable from the beginning."

Ms. May added: "Despite industry claiming that dilbit transported by pipeline was intended for east coast refineries, none of these refineries have, or plan to develop, the ability to refine dilbit. It was intended for export and would not have reduced imports of foreign oil.

"Oil sands oil should be refined in Canada and used for our domestic needs, while we actively transition to clean energy. We must ensure that future oil and gas projects undergo reliable and robust environmental assessments that take into account our emissions targets and Paris Agreement commitments,” Ms. May said.